People who sleep more or fewer than seven hours a day, including naps, are increasing their risk for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, a study published Sunday shows. Sleeping fewer than five hours a day, including naps, more than doubles the risk of being diagnosed with angina, coronary heart…

WRI is working with Google to make our data related to climate change more approachable and interactive than ever. Google’s Public Data Explorer is a new tool that makes large data sets easier to understand and explore. Users can reimagine data sets from a growing list of providers (like the U.S. Census, Eurostat, the World…

Rising temperatures could slow the growth of rice production unless farmers adapt by changing management practices and switch to more heat-tolerant varieties, scientists say. Rice is among the world’s most important crops and a staple for people in Asia and Africa, with Asia producing and consuming more than 90 percent of the world’s output. A…

Plastic shopping bags, carrier bags or plastic grocery bags are a common type of carryall used in several countries. Most often these bags are intended for one single use to carry items from a store to a home. Before then paper bags were most commonly used. The real change in grocery bags did not start…

Since the Obama Administration came to power in Washington, the EPA has taken upon itself the mission of addressing global climate change. They have been very proactive in getting information out confirming that climate change exists and that it is caused, at least in part, by human activities. Ten petitions were sent to the agency…

For most of us, finding a bathroom or toilet isn’t hard. Chances are it’s not more than a short walk away – you may even be there now. For 2.5 billion people around the world, however, it isn’t that easy. Their bathroom is likely shared, has no running water and is a walk from their…

More than 300 foreign tourists are stranded in India’s Himalayan region of Ladakh, three days after flash floods killed at least 150 people and ravaged the main town of Leh, officials said on Monday. Floods triggered by unexpected heavy rains destroyed houses, uprooted telephone towers and deposited boulders and mud up to 15 feet high…

A new NOAA study looking at how to curb the rapid growth of lionfish, an invasive species not native to the Atlantic Ocean, suggests that approximately 27 percent of mature lionfish will have to be removed monthly for one year to reduce its population growth rate to zero. But the good news is that the…

Heavy rain in central Europe has caused floods which killed at least seven people, cut off towns and forced the evacuation of residents from submerged villages by helicopter, authorities and local media said Saturday. The Polish town of Bogatynia was cut off after a river overflowed its banks, covering the main bridge leading into the…

An ice island four times the size of Manhattan broke off from one of Greenland’s two main glaciers, scientists said on Friday, in the biggest such event in the Arctic in nearly 50 years. The new ice island, which broke off on Thursday, will enter a remote place called the Nares Strait, about 620 miles…